By : Kate Thompson
Unity Health Center announced Friday it has given $175,000 for the purchase of a building to be used as a homeless shelter for Shawnee Rescue Mission at the old Lamar building on Ninth and Louisa streets.
SRM received word it was unanimously approved for a $175,000 matching grant from the Sarkeys Foundation, of which First Lady Kim Henry is executive director, earlier this year. They also were told as a condition of that grant, they must raise the remaining portion of the $350,000 building cost by July 28 and could not borrow it.
“We saw what an investment it would be with the Sarkeys Foundation for what is a growing need not only with the homeless but others in need,” Henry said.
As the deadline approached, the mission founders Melissa and Glenn Blankenship and Angie Phillips, vice president and close friend, refused to give up hope that “God will make this happen,” they said.
But they also realized they were about $135,000 short of the goal they had to achieve, as they had raised about $40,000 through a fundraiser dinner and other donations.
“Then, Chuck Skillings [Unity president and CEO] called and said they were giving us the money,” Melissa Blankenship said. “That has to be God, it was on the day of the deadline.” Skillings and Henry each said to their knowledge, this is the first time a hospital has partnered with a homeless shelter in the state of Oklahoma. Henry also said it is a rarity for the Sarkeys Foundation to award a grant for a “start-up organization.”
“We were committed to this,” she said. “It’s one of those rare times the Sarkeys Foundation was willing to take a chance. Realistically, $175,000 is hard, in this climate, to raise but we are very, very thankful that Unity did this and they will make great partners...It’s very heartwarming to be able to help out my home community...This community has been here for me during every major event in my life and this is a way of giving back. This is where I call home and so many this will help don’t even have a home.” Skillings said the amount also is a very large sum for the hospital — which raised $114,500 in United Way funds during the 2009 campaign drive — to donate.
“Our missions are very similar in nature,” Skillings said. “We knew about the challenge grant and we knew they were having difficulty raising the money. We found this would be a win-win situation. Melissa and Angie are two women it’s impossible to say ‘no’ to.”
Others, such as attorney Terry West, who is a Sarkeys board member, agreed the two women were “impossible to say ‘no’ to.”“I thought we had about 10 homeless people in Shawnee and I knew all of them,” he said. “Then Angie and Melissa came to my office and I was dumbfounded. I became really aware with the significance of it and I said, ‘we’re going to make this happen, call Kim.’ We were delighted to make this contribution.”
West said awarding large grants is what the Sarkeys Foundation does but he realizes a contribution of that amount isn’t something that the hospital would usually do. He also said the $40,000 SRM raised would be kept by the charity to use for renovations and other needs at the building. “It says a lot to have a hospital in Shawnee that would go to such lengths for the community,” Blankenship said.
Skillings said the hospital treats many homeless people, as well as individuals who are severely poverty-stricken and near homeless, then the hospital discharges them without knowing where they will go and how they will receive any follow-up care. “We believed it’s time we dealt with this issue,” he said. “But Unity’s not running a rescue mission...Angie and Melissa will do that; they know what to do and they’ll do a good job of it...We’ll do what we can to make sure they’re successful.”
Skillings said a portion of the 28,800 square-foot building will be used for additional storage Unity needs and will provide some temporary office space for the hospital, as well. He said Unity does have a contract in place with the owners of the building and all necessary inspections have been made.
“I believe we will close in the next 30 days,” he said. “The hospital will have the title and ownership of the building and will lease it back to Shawnee Rescue Mission for $1 per year for as long as there is a need.”
Unity Board of Trustees Chair Michelle Briggs also said SRM’s mission is much like that of the hospital.
“Our mission and purpose is compassion and care for the community,” she said. “This is in-line with that...We wanted to touch lives and make a difference.”
Blankenship said 5,000 square feet of the building is ready to occupy but that it will take about a year of renovations and the securing of an occupancy permit before the building can open as a day center and overnight shelter. She said the mission has applied for a $450,000 Affordable Housing Program grant that will help make those renovations possible for much of the building. “God has not only taken care of the building but has taken care of the renovations,” she said. Phillips agreed and thanked West, Skillings, Henry and others.
“This investment isn’t in a building, it’s in the people,” she said. “We will not let the hospital, Sarkeys or the community down.” Phillips said the mission is working with several other non-profit agencies in Shawnee to ensure the building offers a “one-stop resource” for referrals and services needed by many without unnecessarily duplicating services. She said various literacy and training programs will be offered, in addition to other services, and a day center will house up to 15 men and 15 women. “We won’t have families there because Family Promise already does an excellent job helping meet those needs,” she said.
Blankenship said there also will be jobs and job placement opportunities for the individuals served at the building once it is open. City Commissioner John Winterringer was at the press conference announcing the purchase of the building. He said it was an “exciting” opportunity and that he believes it also will be good for businesses in downtown Shawnee. “We do have a homeless situation in Shawnee and this will address that,” he said. “This is great; it’s meant to be.”
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